are the stars out tonight? (i only have eyes for you)
by emptyvessels
Summary: Skye enlists Ward to help her on her latest endeavor: Operation FitzSimmons.


Written as a birthday gift for the wonderful Jenn (snarkysweetness). Complete and total fluff. Oneshot.

I do not own any agents nor do I own any shields. This is set some time after the season one finale.

* * *

"This is a really dumb idea, Skye," Ward sighed, folding his arms across his chest. "Why can't we just tell Fitz to talk to Simmons?"

Skye imitated his pose and narrowed her eyes at him. "Excuse me, but do you know Fitz? Kind of short? Thick curly hair? Even thicker Scottish accent?" Ward rolled his eyes in response, but Skye ignored him. "In what universe is telling Fitz to do anything going to do anything? He only listens to Simmons, anyway."

"Fine," Ward grinned smugly, "then we tell Simmons to talk to Fitz. Problem solved."

"Ward. Come on. They've been tiptoeing around this forever. We owe them this much," she said, her tone sincere. She didn't like to bring up the past, not really; it was a sore subject for them all. But ever since Ward's return, he's been trying really hard to make amends. She can't imagine why he's being so stubborn now.

He stood and thought for a moment, but much to the hacker's delight, ultimately agreed to help.

She smiled. "Good, then. Operation FitzSimmons is a go."

Ward realized he had gotten himself into a mess so far above his head the moment he agreed to helping Skye.

Her plan was extremely detailed; so detailed, in fact, he was surprised that neither Fitz nor Simmons came up with it themselves. It was the work of a genius, he would give her that, but a mad genius.

"So here's what we're gonna do," she explained. "You are going to tell Fitz about this important mission Coulson aside to you, and ask him for his expertise on something…"

"...And I guess Coulson doesn't realize just how clueless I am with working half of the things you and Simmons make, so if you don't mind joining me on this one, I'd greatly appreciate it," Ward said, offering a friendly smile in effort to get Fitz to agree.

Although he had been one of the first - and most willing - to accept Ward's return, the engineer had been more than paranoid about getting out into the field again. Ward had to promise that this one was nothing to fear…. which wasn't the least bit true, seeing how Fitz would almost always clam up and grow uncomfortable at the mere mention of his emotions.

You would think nearly dying to save a loved one's life would release your inhibitions and make you grab life by the metaphorical horns, but it only led Fitz to grow more cautious, more self-conscious and afraid. Ward hated himself every time he had to look into the shorter man's eyes; he would never be able to return what he had taken from him, and no matter how much of anyone's trust he gained back, he knew he would never be able to forgive himself, not completely.

Fitz sighed. He looked uneasy, but he agreed to follow Ward anyway and even though none of this was technically real, Ward felt his stomach drop at Fitz's willingness.

"Glad to hear you're on board, then! I already cleared you with Coulson, so you don't have to worry about all that," he smiled again, more politely this time. "Thanks a lot."

He turned on his heels to exit the room, but having remembered something, paused in the doorway. "Right. Before I forget… It's a pretty formal event, so wear something nice. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

Skye leaned back on Jemma's bed as she watched the other girl get ready for what she believed to be a girl's night out. She held out a simple knee length emerald gown for Skye's approval.

"I love that color for you," Skye said, "but it's kind of just… maybe too simple?"

"I happen to prefer simplicity, thank you very much. I'm sorry my wardrobe isn't flashy enough for you."

Skye shrugged. "That's not what I'm saying. Wear whatever you'd like. I was just offering my advice is all…" she trailed off upon noticing a garment hanging towards the back of the closet in Jemma's room. She stood up and walked over to reach for it. "JEMMA SIMMONS! You've been holding out!"

The scientist shook her head, taking the black dress out of Skye's hands, smiling a little bit. "I wore this when Fitz and I graduated from the Academy-"

Skye cut her off. "It's gorgeous!" she cooed, admiring the dress. It was a simple cut, but timeless and elegant. Skye could picture Jemma in it without even having to actually see it, and that image alone was breathtaking.

"I haven't worn it since. I mostly keep it for sentimental value. Can't bear the thought of leaving it in storage."

Skye smiled to herself. "Wear it tonight."

"No. I mean, I can't," she said, holding the dress up to her frame as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

"Are you kidding? Look at that. You're going to turn every head in the world in that," Skye insisted, her reflection joining Jemma's in the mirror. "At least try it on for me, then. I need to see how hot you look in that! Please?"

The other woman laughed and shook her head, a reaction that she often had when it came to dealing with Skye and her persistence, but she took the dress off its hanger and began to change into it anyway. When she turned to look at her reflection again, she smiled to herself. Skye found herself hoping that Jemma was feeling as good as she looked, because she looked absolutely breathtaking. The lacy black fabric clung to her body like it was designed specifically for her, coming in at the most narrow part of her waist and gradually flowing out until the hem, which fell just below her knee.

Skye gave her a nudge of encouragement and winked at her.

"On second thought, I think I will wear this tonight," Jemma caved, turning to face Skye.

She wasn't sure how he'd reacted to seeing her in the dress the first time, but Skye knew there was no way Fitz would be able to handle himself when he saw her in it tonight.

The fact that the dress held so much sentimental value made it all the better of a choice.

Ward drove a nervous Fitz through a couple of dark roads before arriving at a small bistro. The place was small, but lit up so brightly, it certainly had the illusion that a fancy party was about to occur. Still, there appeared to be no one else around them.

"It's nearly 8pm and nothing has even started yet?" The engineer asked dubiously, cocking his eyebrow.

Ward used his improvisational skills to sound as convincing as possible. "You're completely right, it does look pretty suspicious. This is definitely the right place. Let's check this out."

The two men exited the parked SUV and slowly walked towards the bistro. They were greeted by a slender, attractive woman in her late 30s, who immediately led them past the main dining area to a small room in the back specifically intended for private parties.

To Fitz's surprise, Jemma was already sitting there, at the only table in the room, skimming through the menu before her. He turned to confront Ward about this, to find out what was going on, but was disappointed to find that both the hostess and the older man had left him. He turned back to Jemma and smiled nervously as he caught her eye.

"Fitz! What are you doing here?" She smiled cheerfully, waving for him to sit at the table.

"Ward brought me here on some sort of mission… which I'm guessing now was a load of bullshit," he explained, taking the seat across from her. "And now I have no idea where he went off to. What about you?"

"A girl's night out with Skye," she answered. Her smile fell. "Who left to use the toilet and awfully long time ago. Hmm," she pondered, putting the menu down. "This is odd."

"It's… not that odd," Fitz sighed, having caught on to the whole ruse. This whole situation was already awkward. There was really nothing he could say that could make the evening worse.

"Do you think it's working?" Skye asked, sitting in the front seat of Ward's SUV.

"I don't know. What exactly is supposed to happen?" Ward said in response, reclining back in the driver's seat.

"I don't know, exactly. You should have let me put a wire in there. This is driving me crazy."

"Skye. We're already meddling in their lives. The least we could do is give the two of them some privacy."

Skye sighed. "You're right. I just need to know if it's working! They really just needed a push, you know?"

"If that's really the case, then don't worry about it. We gave them a push. If it's supposed to work out, it'll work out, right?" Ward assured her, the tone in his voice soft and focused.

Skye quirked an eyebrow and reclined back into her own seat and turned to face him. "A surprisingly mellow response from a notoriously tightly-wound agent."

"A reformed notoriously tightly-wound agent," he corrected her. "A notoriously tightly-wound agent in recovery and rehabilitation."

"Right," she said with a smile. "Of course."

He turned his head to face her now, too, and stared at her through the darkness. Skye grew hot under his gaze but found herself unable to turn away. It had been a long time since they'd been really alone together, especially in such a small and intimate setting. She'd almost forgotten what it was like to actually be this close to him, in every sense of the word.

She almost missed it.

He returned her smile weakly, his eyes still peering in to hers.

No. She most definitely missed it.

She tried to shake herself out of it. She found herself dwelling on Ward and what could have been pretty often, and she'd be lying if she tried to tell herself otherwise. She'd also be lying if she said she wasn't still pissed at him, but he was trying so hard and while he owed them so much, she at least owed him her respect.

Still, that didn't mean these feelings were a good thing.

She sighed and stared up at sky through the sunroof.

"What a night, huh?" she said, mostly to fill the silence.

A moment or so passed before he responded. "Yeah," was all he said. He sounded tired. Skye peeked over at him through the corner of her eye and gave a small smile when she realized he was still looking at her. There she was again, going warm all over.

She wanted to ask how much longer he thought FitzSimmons would be, or ask if he thought one of them should go in and check up on them, but she found herself unable to form any words. Instead, she reached a shaky hand over and wrapped it around his, giving him a reassuring squeeze; what she was reassuring him about, exactly, she wasn't sure. Probably that it would all end up okay, that they would all be okay, and maybe also that they, as in the two of them, would also be okay.

And in that moment, despite all of her resistance, she wanted so hard to believe it, too.


End file.
